If I die, you'll turn me into a Human Puppet, right?
Mukai's seemingly ordinary question rang in Sasori's ears like a thunderclap.
A flicker of panic crossed his normally icy eyes,
and he tried to avoid Mukai's gaze, which seemed able to see right through him.
Mukai smiled faintly and said:
"Sasori, you don't have to lie to me. When I was gravely wounded and on the verge of death, I saw many people in the Pure Land,
and I also saw a glimpse of the future.
If you still consider me a friend, just tell me what you think.
I won't blame you."
The air in the room seemed to freeze, and Sasori's body trembled slightly.
After a while, Sasori's lips moved, and he finally spoke:
"Yes!
If you die, I'll turn you into a Human Puppet!
So what?
That would be eternal art.
Your Wind Release, your Lightning Release, your Chakra control techniques,
and your appearance-I'll preserve them all forever in a Human Puppet!
I'll keep modifying your Human Puppet and make you more perfect than you are now.
You won't age or get hurt, and you can be my friend forever!
Eternity is the best!"
Sasori's answer was cruel and honest. It seemed heartless, but in Mukai's eyes,
it was the perfect reflection of Sasori's twisted view of life in the original story.
Eternity was art.
Mukai wasn't afraid, didn't argue, and certainly didn't get angry.
He continued in a calm voice:
"And then? What happens after you turn me into a Human Puppet?
Will you put me in a cabinet, and when you miss me, your friend,
take my puppet out for a look?"
Sasori froze for a moment:
"What do you mean, 'and then'?
Eternity is the endpoint of everything.
It won't break, and I won't lose it again. That's enough!"
Mukai reached out with his right hand and gently patted the agitated Sasori:
"A puppet that won't break, and a me frozen forever as I am now-
is that really the eternity you want?
Sasori, to me, that's just the eternity of a museum,
like a rock in the desert or an ancient relic buried underground.
It seems eternal and unchanging, but it's a dead object!
That wouldn't be the real me!"
Dead!
The word pierced Sasori's heart like a precisely placed thorn.
He sprang to his feet, his gaze sharp as a thorn.
Sasori raised his voice slightly, a hint of anger in it:
"Then what do you suggest?
What other eternity can transcend life and death?
What do you know about art?
Have you ever lost a loved one?
What other eternity lets someone live forever?"
Mukai sat up on the tatami as well, paying no mind to Sasori's tone.
He first raised a finger to his lips, signaling Sasori to lower his voice and not disturb Granny Chiyo.
He met Sasori's gaze, his eyes clear and resolute:
"Sasori, you already know the truth. That excuse about your parents going away on a mission
was a lie Granny Chiyo told you, wasn't it?"
Sasori clenched his fists, his eyes full of anger. He nodded forcefully and glared at Mukai in challenge.
Mukai continued on his own:
"I know you're afraid of loss,
and I know you genuinely consider me a friend.
But even if you turn me into a Human Puppet,
my thoughts and my knowledge will be frozen at this moment,
and I'll never make any further progress.
Then I'd just be a machine with a few more abilities than an ordinary puppet.
Right now, I can make an electric arc this big. In the future, it would only ever be this big."
As Mukai spoke, he conjured a blue-white arc of electricity between his fingers.
He watched the high-voltage arc flicker in his hand,
his voice seeming to carry a reassuring power:
"Sasori, I'm someone who came back from a gap between the Pure Land.
Although it was only for an instant, I still saw quite a few people from the village.
They told me many secrets.
There are many wondrous Ninjutsu in the Shinobi World that can communicate with the Pure Land of the underworld.
As long as we keep living and develop all kinds of technology and Ninjutsu,
we can surely transcend the limitations between life and death
and achieve true eternity.
Wouldn't that be better than the false eternity you imagine?"
Sasori seemed much calmer, though confusion flickered in his eyes.
Mukai breathed a slight sigh of relief and pressed his advantage:
"So, Sasori, stop dwelling on it for now.
I didn't go through all that suffering, getting hurt and nearly dying, for nothing.
Remember that cylinder I gave Konan?
I have a genius idea that could make water right here.
Interested in giving it a try?"
Sasori seemed to have let go of some of his obsession, and his cocky demeanor returned:
"The one with the bluish-purple hair you like?
It's just a cylinder for storing Lightning Release Chakra.
What's so special about it?"
Seeing the change in Sasori, Mukai controlled an electric arc on his finger as if showing off:
"Oh, Sasori, you have high standards!
Don't underestimate that little cylinder. It can store more than just Lightning Release Chakra.
Besides, that was only an experiment to test my idea.
Even if it was an imperfect prototype, it was still high-level work."
Sasori lay back down on the tatami with a disdainful snort:
"High-level? How high?"
Mukai lay down too, resting his head on his arms as he said softly:
"How high? At least two stories high."
Sasori, lying beside him, had never heard a quip like that before, and Mukai made him laugh.
Caught off guard, he coughed as he laughed.
After finally calming down, Sasori suddenly spoke:
"Mukai, thank you!"
According to the memories Mukai had integrated, Sasori had always acted cool and aloof,
and getting him to say thanks was practically as unlikely as the sun rising in the west.
Mukai grinned:
"No need to be polite. We're good brothers!
If you really want to thank me, wipe out my debt!"
"Dream on. You're generous enough to give away money and Chakra Metal.
You're lucky I'm not charging you interest!"
"Then from now on, I'll call you Stingy Sasori!"
"Whatever!"
Outside the door, Granny Chiyo listened to their bickering and breathed a quiet sigh of relief.
Though she was extremely busy, she still paid close attention to her only grandson, Sasori.
As Sasori gradually grew older, the excuse she had used to deceive him had long since stopped working.
Ever since Sasori put away the Father and Mother puppets, Granny Chiyo had known he had discovered the truth.
And naturally, Sasori's secret research into making Human Puppets couldn't escape her notice either.
As Sasori spoke less and less and grew increasingly withdrawn, Granny Chiyo didn't know how to bring him back.
Mukai, nicknamed Komushi, was the only person in the village who could still talk to Sasori.
That was why she had secretly transferred Mukai, who had just graduated and become a Genin, to Sasori's team.
Looking at it now, her decision had been exceptionally wise.
Sasori had clearly become much more cheerful after returning from this mission.
That child Mukai was really something!
Granny Chiyo's attention was focused solely on the change in Sasori. As for the high-level ninja tool Mukai had mentioned,
she paid it no mind.
What innovation could a newly graduated Genin with little talent come up with?
It was up to the adults like her to worry about the village's affairs!
Granny Chiyo departed silently, without disturbing the two bickering inside the room.
Crackle!
A blue-white electric arc flashed, and the wandering ninja, whose eyes were covered by paper Konan had materialized, shuddered.
The high-voltage, low-current arc discharge shocked him unconscious, and he collapsed to the ground.
He was still twitching after he fell.
Yahiko, who had been about to come over and help, exclaimed in surprise:
"Konan, you're amazing!"